


Bonds of Deceit

by KaraShi77, kiyamasho



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Drama, Gen, Pokemon - Freeform, Realistic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 02:16:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7556242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaraShi77/pseuds/KaraShi77, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyamasho/pseuds/kiyamasho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zen and Hana have lived most of their lives under the shadow of their father's death. After Zen, an accomplished Pokemon trainer, leaves for Kalos, Hana receives a mysterious letter leading her to believe there is something more to their father's death than a simple accident. Soon the two siblings are fighting not just for their lives, but for the fate of all those around them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first chapter of Bonds of Deceit. Please enjoy our take on the Pokemon Universe. 
> 
> At the end of each chapter will be a pokedex entry for the main pokemon featured within the writing. The entries will come from Pokemon XY.

 

The wind beat harshly against the trees as a stinging rain fell onto the occupants of the battle field. Thunder shook the ground, and the man, soaked to the bone, gritted his teeth as he stood beside his fallen Tyranitar. He hadn't been expecting this battle, but as the Champion of Sinnoh he had thrown his all into it, determined to eliminate this threat that tried to profit from what remained of Team Galactic. His lips curled downwards as he looked at his fallen champion team.

They had been through so much together, overcome all odds, and grown strong. Stronger than he ever imagined possible. But against this _thing_ , he and his team had been powerless. The Champion looked at his Tyranitar, who lay defeated and bleeding from a long gash to the side of his torso.

Across from the Champion stood another man, tall and unaffected by the rain. The Pokemon that towered beside him seemed to revel in the fact that he had brought down the powerful Tyranitar. The creature in question had started the battle as a Gyarados, and the Champion had felt confident in his Tyranitar's ability to bring the other pokemon down. However, after exchanging several attacks, it was clear that they were evenly matched. Partway through the battle a flash of brilliant pink light had erupted from the wrist of the other man. The light enveloped the Gyarados and to the Champion's shock something else had emerged.

The Gyarados seemed to have grown in both width and length, his yellow belly now a shiny black, outlined in red scales. Bits of red peered through blue along its sides and deadly looking spikes jutted from the creature's head while a large fin lined his spine. Having completed the transformation, the Gyarados had let out a roar causing the earth to tremble beneath their feet. A laugh slipped from the man's lips. "Are you ready to give up? Your pokemon have been defeated, and now... This battle is pointless. I _will_ accomplish what I came here to do."

The champion shook his head and recalled his pokemon to their respective pokeballs. "That's where you're wrong, Lysandre! This isn't over till it's over! And as far as I can see….I still have one pokemon left!"

Eyes widening, the man now identified as Lysandre cursed under his breath at his careless mistake. How could he have forgotten about the Sinnoh Champion's sixth pokemon? He had gotten caught up with the raw power put on display by his Mega Gyarados; it was exhilarating! But now… his uncharacteristic lack of attention to detail might cost him.

He watched with morbid fascination as the air beside the champion seemed to ripple, and something began to materialize right next to his opponent. Lysandre was no fool. He was aware of exactly why the man he was facing had taken the Sinnoh League by storm; and it wasn't just because of his powerful team of highly trained pokemon. While they no doubt had played a major role in his success, he couldn't have done it without _that_ pokemon.

Lysandre couldn't suppress a shiver as a sudden darkness seemed to blanket the area, and a malevolent aura permeated the air around the two combatants, making it hard for him to breathe. As he squinted to try and see in the limited light, he took an involuntary step back when he noticed the two, glowing, cold blue eyes staring at him from the darkness. The sheer amount of killing intent behind that stare almost immediately made him nauseous.

"I see you recognize my pokemon, the legendary Darkrai." The Champion said, unable to stop the smirk from crossing his lips. "Are you ready to concede defeat?"

The words shook Lysandre from his stupor and he laughed at the arrogance of the Champion. "The only one conceding defeat will be you! Gyarados, Use Aqua Tail!"

The Gyarados, let out another earth shaking roar as the water from the rain gathered around its tail. In a move almost too quick for the human eye to track, the tail whipped forward and connected with the Darkrai's torso.

Darkrai flew back at breakneck speed, the force of the blow propelling him towards a group of trees behind it's trainer. Amazingly, the Darkrai kept it's seemingly evil gaze locked onto Lysandre the entire time, which was unnerving for him to say the least. Despite himself, Lysandre grinned in anticipation of the Darkrai smashing into one of the trees. However, his grin faltered when the Darkrai, still staring at him, struck the tree...and immediately disappeared into it's shadow.

The Champion clenched his fists together and spoke. "Why don't you show him what a legendary is capable of? Darkrai, use Shadow Claw!"

Lysandre's Gyarados was desperately looking around the battlefield in a futile attempt to find his opponent, when suddenly, the Darkrai emerged behind the towering pokemon, right out of his shadow; it's claw-like hand shrouded in a dark mist, and prepared to plunge it deep into his opponents back.

The powerful Gyarados didn't seem to notice the danger. But Lysandre, who had by some miracle seen Gyarados' shadow shifting, realized exactly what was happening.

"Gyarados, look out! It's behind you!"

At the sound of his trainers shout, the mighty Gyarados threw itself forward, clumsily dodging what could have been a fatal strike. However, it was too slow to dodge entirely, and received a shallow gash that ripped off more than a few scales and drew blood.

Lysandre''s Gyarados roared in frustration, and in a counter attack that caught the Darkrai off guard, whipped its tail at the shadow pokemon, managing to clip the arm that had just attacked it. The Darkrai quickly disappeared into another shadow, and re-emerged next to it's trainer; prepared to continue battling, but nursing a small cut on its arm from where the Gyarados had managed to make contact with it's tail.

Both trainers glared at each other and prepared for what they knew would be the battle that would decide it all. Champion, vs. the leader of Team Flare, a legendary, vs. a mega evolved pokemon.

Both men called out their orders at nearly the same time.

"Darkrai, use Dark Pulse!"

"Quick Gyarados, meet that Dark Pulse with Iron Head, then use Aqua Tail again!"

Darkrai took only a second to gather its dark energy between its hands and thrust it forward, shooting a swirling beam of darkness straight at Gyarados.

Gyarados roared and it's head began to glow. It lowered its head and shot forward with amazing speed, blasting right through the beam of dark energy with little trouble, and taking little damage due to the fact that it was now half dark type because of it's mega evolution. It continued on at high speed towards it's target; water from the rain already collecting around it's tail for a second time.

"Meet that Aqua Tail with Shadow Claw!" yelled the Sinnoh Champion.

Darkness once again shrouded Darkrai's claws as it rushed the incoming Gyarados at an equal speed; drawing it's claws back in preparation to meet the giant blue dragon.

A shockwave of energy exploded when the two pokemon met with their respective attacks, causing a maelstrom of wind and dark energy to surge outwards, and throwing both trainers backwards and to the ground.

The Darkrai's glowing blue eyes glared up at the wild and fierce looking eyes of the Gyarados. Both pokemon stared each other down as they struggled to overpower the other. Gyarados roared once more, and Darkrai remained ever silent; The only indication that it was struggling being the slight narrowing of its eyes as it struggled under the weight of Mega Gyarados' Aqua Tail.

Lysandre smirked, rising to his feet as he absently brushed a bit of mud from his hands. "Gyarados, use your tail to wrap up that Darkrai, then bite it!"

Lysandre's Gyarados immediately complied, and swiftly disengaged; wrapping its tail around the Darkrai, who immediately took advantage of it's brief moment of freedom to slash the massive blue serpent across the stomach with its still activated shadow claw.

The Gyarados bellowed loudly in pain, but despite it's now heavily bleeding stomach, it began tightening its long tail around it's prey. Opening it's gigantic maw,which was filled with hundreds of razor sharp teeth, the Gyarados lunged down at the Darkrai that was trapped in its coils, intent on ending its life with a single bite.

A shadow was cast over the captured Darkrai, as the Gyarados' head came down over it in preparation for it's attack. However, in that split second before being devoured by the giant pokemon, the Darkrai looked at it's trainer, who simply nodded his head and smirked.

Darkrai's eyes flashed for a brief moment, before it vanished into the shadow that was cast by the Gyarados' giant head.

The enhanced Gyarados didn't have time to react, and instead, ended up biting down hard on nothing but air, and the Darkrai vanished from sight. The sound of it's mouth shutting on nothing but itself sounded like a thunderclap, and the Gyarados roared in frustration at missing its target.

"Ominous Wind!"

Out of nowhere a powerful blast of wind, that carried the scent of death and decay erupted into existence, lifting Lysandre's Gyarados like a ragdoll, and smashing it against the rocky cliff face that was about forty feet away.

The pokemon's roar of pain was drowned out by the sound of boulders dislodging from the mountainside and collapsing on top of the fallen pokemon, completely burying it.

"No! Gyarados!" The leader of Team Flare clenched his fists as he looked over at the mound of boulders that had buried his pokemon. He then straightened up and began to laugh, while looking over at Sinnoh's Champion and his pokemon, who were standing together off to the side; The torrential downpour didn't seem to bother the duo at all, at least, that's what it seemed like due to his damned grin. It was apparent that his Gyarados, even while enhanced, was no match for the legendary pokemon.

But he was always prepared. He _was_ the leader of Team Flare after all, and it wouldn't do to be caught unprepared in situations such as these.

The Champion ignored Lysandre's laugh. He could feel his heartbeat quickening as the end drew near. "It's over Lysandre! Darkrai, use-!"

His voice was cut off as something hit him from behind. Disoriented the Champion found himself laying on the muddy ground with a Mightyena on top of him. A team Flare Grunt, who had been hidden nearby waiting to be useful, grinned as his pokemon kept the Champion pinned to the ground.

Lysandre laughed at the stunned look on the other man's face. "Did you really think I'd come here alone and unprepared? It's over champion _..._ or should I say _Shota._ " He spit out the name of the Champion, his lips curling into a sneer. "You were a fool to think you could go against me! Gyarados, use Outrage...On the _former_ Champion of Sinnoh!"

An unearthly roar rose up from where the Gyarados had been entombed by boulders. In an explosion of light, the boulders were scattered as if they were pebbles, and Lysandre's pokemon rose up to it's full height. It was in bad shape, bleeding heavily from it's stomach wound, and littered with various cuts, and gashes due to that last attack. However, despite it's obvious pain, the Gyarados' body began to glow red and tremble. Lightening fast, it made its way across the battlefield, demolishing a few trees that were in it's path, completely intent on destroying Shota.

Shota could only watch in grim horror as several more Flare Grunt's appeared, each of them sending their pokemon out to keep Darkrai distracted. The Champion's eyes closed as he felt the ground shake due to the giant pokemon that was rapidly closing in on his position. He never imagined that he would die this way; laying in the dirt in the middle of some godforsaken mountain range, and no way to say goodbye. The rampaging Gyarados lunged toward him, it's full weight and gathered energy prepared to obliterate Shota on contact.

As the Mega Gyarados made contact with his quarry, Lysandre felt his muscles relax and a smile spread across his face. No one could stop him now.

* * *

**POKEDEX ENTRY**

**#491 Darkrai:** _It chases people and Pokémon from its territory by causing them to experience deep, nightmarish slumbers._

**#130 Gyarados:** _Rarely seen in the wild. Huge and vicious, it is capable of destroying entire cities in a rage._


	2. A New Beginning

Zen blinked in shock as he watched his Serperior get knocked out by an incredibly powerful X-scissor attack. His opponent stood on the opposite end of the field, unable to suppress the huge smile that was threatening to rip her face apart.

"Yes! You did it Haxorus! We won!"

The Haxorus in question gave a celebratory roar as its predatory eyes gazed down at the fallen serpent pokemon. It snorted, clawed the ground with its powerful clawed foot, and began making its way back towards its trainer. The powerful armoured dragon stood a foot taller than its trainer, and could definitely eviscerate her with just a swipe of its claws...yet the way she had commanded it was proof enough that she deserved to be standing where she was.

Haxorus' trainer gave another silent thanks to creature before recalling him into his pokeball. As a master dragon-type trainer, she understood that there were certain rules one had to follow when dealing with Dragons, and one of those was not touching one while it was still feeling the heat of a previous battle. Dragon-types were extremely difficult to train for a reason. They were dangerous; and many foolish trainers had lost their lives due to careless handling of Dragon-type pokemon in the past.

It had actually become such a problem, that the Pokemon League government was forced to pass a law requiring a Dragon-Pokemon license for those who wanted to catch and train dragon-type pokemon. That had been about fifteen years ago, and thankfully, this lowered the amount of accidents occurring due to the careless mishandling of the powerful creatures.

The girl was startled out of her thoughts by a flash of red light, and the tell-tale sound of a pokemon being recalled to its pokeball. She looked up to find the current Unova League Champion walking across the field to where she was standing.

Zen smiled ruefully as he reached the trainer who had just bested him in battle. It had been two years since he had lost a battle, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Thank you for giving me such a great battle, Iris. You really are as talented as they say."

He paused before continuing. "Are you sure you are ready for all the responsibilities that come hand-in-hand with being the Unova League Champion? It's more than just winning battles you know." He narrowed his eyes slightly in an effort to intimidate her.

Iris, the former Opelucid Gym leader and now the brand new Unova Champion nodded and grinned up at Zen. "I'm ready," she responded confidently. "I've been dreaming about being the champion since I was a little girl; I'll do my best now that It's finally happened."

The two champions shook hands and Iris asked curiously, "So what will you do now Zen? Are you going to stay here in Unova? There are some gyms searching for leaders now."

Zen rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he pondered her question. What _would_ he do? He honestly hadn't been expecting to lose today, and now he was caught flat-footed trying to answer a question he really wasn't ready to answer.

However... this could work perfectly in his favor; now he could start fresh. Two years of being weighed down by the responsibilities of being the Unova League Champion had left him tired, and with less time than he would like to train himself and his team.

With an impish grin Iris offered, "You know, you're always welcome to fight me for the title again."

Zen scoffed. "You only won because I decided not to use my Tyranitar." He cringed inwardly at what he knew was a lame excuse, and did his best to keep a straight face.

Iris rolled her eyes at her friend and former Champion. She had been expecting a comment like this sooner or later. After all, she knew how much he hated losing. Before she could say anything, the doors to the battle room opened and the current Elite Four made their presence known. They strode in with purpose; all four of them fixing their eyes on Iris, and coming to a stop right in front of her.

There was a tense moment of silence as the four most powerful trainers in Unova stared unblinking at Iris, causing her to fidget a bit under their gaze. Suddenly, they all broke into wide grins, and Caitlin, the Psychic-master of the Unovan Elite four, stepped forward.

"On behalf of the Elite Four, and the entire Unova League, we congratulate you for your victory. You have demonstrated that you have what it takes to be the Champion of not just this league, but of the entire Unova Region."

She paused to glance at Zen before continuing. "Zen has done a marvelous job during his time as Champion, and we hope you understand that it's up to you to pick up where he left off. Should the League feel as if you are not performing up to its standards, it is within our right to find a more qualified replacement. Do you understand?" Caitlin looked at Iris with a serious, yet kind face as she waited for a response.

Although no names had been spoken, Caitlin's warning was clear. Iris remembered stumbling upon a newspaper article three or four years back while looking through some old papers she had found while cleaning up at home. The article detailed the biggest scandal in the history of the United Pokemon League, otherwise known as the UPL.

Apparently, the Kanto Champion of the time was discovered to be participating in a large amount of criminal activity. The trial was long, and the UPL was hard-pressed to find evidence that would actually prove his guilt. It was so long in fact, that although they removed him as Champion, he was still assigned a gym by the UPL in order to uphold public appearances.

Iris chuckled as she remembered how in the end, it had been an unassuming and optimistic ten year old and his Pikachu that uncovered the secret criminal organization known as Team Rocket, whose leader turned out to be the former Champ himself.

Unfortunately, upon being found out, the former Kanto Champion, also known as Giovanni, disappeared. Iris had heard rumors that Team Rocket still existed, and he still lead them from the shadows of god knows where.

It had been about ten years since then, but it still made Iris sick to think that a Champion of ANY region would stoop so low that he would become a _criminal,_ the exact opposite of what a Champion was supposed to good news, was that what had happened with Team Rocket and Giovanni was an isolated case. Aside from him, there had been no more incidents of that nature. Champions were meant to be heroes after all.

Iris suddenly remembered that Caitlin was still staring at her and waiting for a response to her question. She blushed and gave a hasty thumbs up, "I understand!"

Caitlin then turned to Zen and asked curiously, "You'll be staying for the ceremony tomorrow night, won't you?" Although it was considered bad form, many former champions, embarrassed by their loss in battle, would slip away before the official ceremonial swearing in of the new champion.

Zen immediately opened his mouth to give a false reason for not being able to attend, but thought twice when he saw the look Iris was shooting his way.

"Of course he will!" Iris immediately butted in. Placing her hands on her hips she looked at Zen, the stern look on her face in stark contrast with the soft feminine clothes she wore. "You will, won't you?" Her tone left no room for arguments.

Zen closed his eyes and sighed in defeat.

" _Women_."

* * *

"Hana! The delivery is here!"

Hana, who had been busy taking inventory, looked up from her clipboard and smiled at Billy. It was late in the afternoon and, as the manager of the Floaroma Town Pokemart, Hana had spent most of the day working in the small warehouse attached to the store getting ready for a big shipment of Pokeballs.

She was happy that Billy **,** who worked the front counter, had seen the delivery truck coming down the street. Some days, the deliveries for the store didn't arrive until early evening, but tonight there was a Contest over at the Floaroma Contest Hall, and the Pokemart was sponsoring several of the prizes. A late delivery would have caused an uproar at the Contest Hall due to a lack of prizes for their winners.

Setting the clipboard down, Hana made her way to the back door of the warehouse and saw that the delivery truck had already pulled up. She waved at Greg, who had made several deliveries for them in the past, and waited patiently for him to remove several boxes and a packet of letters from his truck.

Once he had pushed the boxes over to the doorway, Greg held out his docket for her to sign. "Beautiful day isn't it?"

Hana dipped her head in agreement as she signed her name. "One of the perks of living in Floaroma Town." she handed him back the docket and picked up one of the boxes before continuing, "Even the rainy days are nice."

The comment wasn't an exaggeration. Floaroma was one of the most beautiful places on Sinnoh. Besides the contest hall, it was also the home of the Floaroma Meadows; people came from all over the world to view the flowers and to purchase honey from the the man in charge of the fields. Growing up Hana had enjoyed going there for hours to relax and play with her Gible. Now that she was older it was hard to find time to relax like that.

With Greg's help, the boxes were quickly moved indoors. Once he was gone, Hana picked up the packet of letters and skimmed them. Bills, bills, and more bills. She rolled her eyes and was about to toss the letters onto the worktable when she noticed there was a letter stuck to the back of the electric bill. Pulling it off, she was surprised to see that it was addressed to to her and her brother Zen with no return address.

The thought of her older brother Zen always caused the same response in Hana; a tightening of her lips and an eyeroll. Zen was a seasoned pokemon trainer and, ever since he began his journey years before at the age of ten, Hana and her mother had only seen him once a year...at most.

Some years passed with only a postcard as a way of Zen acknowledging that he had family in Sinnoh. Hana frowned slightly as she thought about the last time she had seen him; almost three years ago. The visit had been tense and awkward because their mother had been throwing not-so-subtle hints that she wanted Zen to return home.

The last thing Hana had heard of her brother was that he had become the Unova League Champion. Zen had made it clear long ago that his journey as a trainer was the most important thing in his life. As long as he kept his nose out of her share of the Pokemart, Hana would be happy. Shaking her head slightly to remove the thoughts of Zen from her mind, Hana turned back to the letter.

Tempted to open it, Hana instead slipped it into her back pocket. The rest of the afternoon went by quickly and it wasn't until she was changing to attend the pokemon contest that Hana remembered the letter. Sighing Hana sat down on the edge of her bed and opened the envelope; pulling out a single letter and a small photo.

Without glancing at the photo she quickly scanned the contents of the single page. As the words filtered through her mind and took on meaning, Hana let out a gasp and looked at the photo, her eyes widening in shock. After several breathless moments she read the letter more carefully, her hands trembling.

At that moment, Hana felt something crash into her leg and looked down to see her Gible shaking a toy in its mouth as it moved rapidly around the room. It was Gible's third toy that month, the previous two having fallen victim to its predatory instincts. The new toy bounced across the room with a toss of Gible's head, and the stout little pokemon crouched low, ready to pounce. It bared its mouth full of razor sharp teeth, and growled inside it's throat.

Hana shook her head at its really intended to end that toy's life. With a loud shriek, Gible dug the claws on its toes into the soft carpet, and lunged at the toy, which lay defenselessly on the floor across the room. Unfortunately, Gible's attack was thwarted as he tripped over one of Hana's shoes.

Unable to stop the smile coming to her face Hana shook her head. "Silly thing…" Her eyes went back to the letter and she read it a third time. As she finished, the woman stood up and looked at herself in the mirror.

Hana's eyes, green and narrow, looked huge now in her pale face. Struggling to control her breathing, she brushed back her chin length blue hair from her face and began to pull off the dress she had just put on. Tossing it on top of Gible, who let out an outraged series of noises, Hana quickly changed back into her customary dark jeans, black tank, and maroon jacket.

At that moment her mother knocked on the bedroom door. Hana opened it, and immediately smiled when she saw her mother. Normally Kaede was dressed simply in a pair of slacks and a collared shirt. But tonight, for the pokemon contest, she had dressed up in a dress with heels.

"Mom, you look beautiful."

Kaede smiled but looked quizzically at her daughter. "Thank you dear, but why aren't you dressed? I thought we needed to leave for the contest in ten minutes."

For a moment Hana considered telling her mother about the letter. If anyone would know what to do, it would be her. But...memories of Hana's childhood pushed forward and she decided to keep it quiet for now. Running a hand through her hair Hana replied, "I'm sorry mom but I just feel exhausted. I'm just going to stay home if that's alright with you."

"Of course darling, but...perhaps I should stay with you." Kaede reached out to touch her daughter's cheek. "Billy can represent the store for us."

Seized by a wave of love for her mother, Hana reached out and hugged her. "Thanks mom, but I'll be alright. You need to go out and show off that dress."

It took a few moments of convincing, but eventually her mother left, being escorted by a forlorn looking Billy, who Hana suspected had a minor crush on her.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Hana made her way back to her bedroom and began to pack a bag with trembling hands. She was terrified of what she was about to do, but someone had to get the letter to Zen, and since her mother couldn't do it... Trying to strengthen her resolve, Hana spoke aloud to Gible who was now chewing on the worn looking leg of her vanity.

"I hate to even admit it, but Zen will know what to do...after all of his travels he'll have connections. Right Gible?" Hana looked at Gible who ignored her and kept chewing.

Hana continued with false confidence. "I'll pass the letter on to him, he'll take on the situation, and then we can come home and everything will be alright...right?"

Gible finally looked at her and let out a happy sounding snarl. Sighing Hana sat on the edge of her bed and pressed a hand against her stomach. She could always mail the letter, but with the way Zen flitted from place to place there was no guarantee it would even reach him.

By the time she finished packing, Hana was starting to feel as though her heart would race out of her chest. She had never left Floaroma Town except for a brief three week stint with her brother at the beginning of his journey fifteen years before. Traumatized by the life that trainers actually lived, Hana had returned home and had staunchly declared she would never be a trainer.

Her father, the Sinnoh Champion at the time, had thought her declaration to be childish and the very next year, when she had turned ten, had gifted her a Gible. Hana's first instinct had been to get rid of the scary looking creature, but after her father had passed away in a training accident a few days later, the Gible had become a living connection to him.

Looking down at her Gible, Hana said softly, "Are you ready boy?"

Waddling up to her, the Gible nudged her leg and grunted cheerfully several times. Reaching out, Hana scratched his head the way he liked it, and finally stood up. She would do this not for herself, but for her mother.

Picking up the backpack and placing it on her back, Hana and her Gible left the house and set off for the road that lead away from Floaroma Town.

* * *

The next evening, the Hall of Champions was filled with people from all over Unova, who had come to watch the swearing in ceremony for their new Champion.

Zen, standing outside the door to the entrance along with the Elite Four and Iris couldn't help but remember his own swearing in ceremony two years before.

_Zen finished reciting the Champion's Pledge and got up off of his knee to face the immense crowd that had gathered to witness the occasion. He closed his eyes as he absorbed the applause, and relished in the deafening roar of the cheering multitude. This was it, the greatest moment in his life. He had dreamt of this moment; imagined it day, after day, after day, as he journeyed and trained with pokemon. But his imagination could not compare in the slightest to how he felt at this moment._

" _I did it." He thought, "I'm finally wearing your shoes dad… I grew strong, just like I promised you I would. What would you say if you were here..?"_

_Opening his eyes to look at the people he was now responsible for protecting, and over at the Alder and the Elite Four who stood behind him, Zen pumped his fist into the air enthusiastically, which only incited the crowd even more._

_He would be the best Champion the League had ever seen._

Iris caught Zen's eye and smiled nervously at him. But at that moment, the doors opened and hush fell over the people waiting in the room. The Elite Four filed into the room first, wearing formal attire and walking with an air of importance. They took positions at the front of the room on a platform that had been set up earlier that day. Following behind them was Zen, who was also dressed formally. This was a huge contrast between his normal, everyday outfit; but a Champion will always be a Champion at heart, and Zen played the role perfectly.

His presence in the room could not be ignored, as evidenced by the awed murmurs and whispers coming from the occupants of the Hall. The Hall was filled with hushed voices as Zen strode down the aisle. During his two years as Champion, Zen had kept mostly to himself, only appearing in public when the need arose.

Ignoring all the background noise, Zen made his way to the front of the room and joined the Elite Four on the platform. Zen faced the crowd and, raising his arms to signal for silence, he said simply, "We are here today for one reason and one reason only, and that is to celebrate a great victory, and the beginning of a new chapter for the Unova Region!"

The crowd cheered and stood as Iris entered through the doorway and into the Hall of Champions. Although she was a bit nervous, she raised her chin and walked confidently down the aisle until she stood before Zen.

With only the smallest of smiles Zen said solemnly, "Iris, do you accept this post as the Unova League Champion?"

"I do," Iris said firmly, all traces of nervousness gone.

"Then take a knee, and repeat the Unova League pledge after me."

All murmurings died down as Iris faced the crowd, took a knee, and repeated the words that Zen himself had spoken a few years before.

"I, Iris Siauna, hereby pledge to use my abilities and those of my pokemon to defend Unova and her people. I vow to always stand for what is right, to always execute my duties as Champion to the best of my ability, and to preserve the integrity of the United Pokemon League...even unto my last breath."

When the final words were spoken, the crowd gave another cheer and Iris, the newly appointed Champion of Unova, stood and let out a cheer of her own.

* * *

"Ah, Zen there you are."

Caitlin's voice came from behind Zen, who had been contemplating how to escape the after party without anyone noticing.

Feining a smile Zen turned around and greeted the woman. "Need something?"

Shaking her head Caitlin gestured to the older man who stood beside her. "I wanted to introduce you to Sheldon Witman; one of the leading members of the UPL."

Zen shook hands with Sheldon and couldn't help feeling impressed. The United Pokemon League or, as it was more colloquially referred to, the UPL, was the League that oversaw the affairs of all the Regional Leagues.

About a century ago, the civil government had been responsible for dealing with both civilians and trainers alike. However, it quickly became clear that a separate political entity was needed to deal directly with the affairs of pokemon and their trainers.

Eventually the United Pokemon League was created. The advantages of this new political power were immediately evident. Before, trainers had just been people who risked their lives to tame dangerous wild beasts with nothing but sweat, blood, dedication, and no Pokeballs to protect them from untrained and wild pokemon.

Pokemon professors who handed out starter pokemon did not exist in those times, and if you wanted a Pokemon as your partner, you had to go out and risk your life attempting to tame one with your bare hands.

According to legend, the great grandfather of the UPL's first President had encountered a wild Dragonite **,** and gained its respect by defeating it in battle with nothing but a knife, a rope, and his two hands. Apparently, the Dragonite of the current UPL President was a descendent of that Dragonite of legend **.**

The UPL presided over each Regional League. When a Regional League could no longer handle the trouble within its jurisdiction, the UPL would swoop in and clean up the mess. The last Zen had heard, nearly the entire UPL Board of Directors was comprised of former Champions.

"It's good to meet you Zen," Sheldon said, a kind smile on his face. "I was hoping I'd have a moment to connect with you."

Giving a friendly nod to Caitlin, Sheldon led Zen to a more private corner and asked quietly, "What do you know about the Kalos Region?"

* * *

At that moment, Nearly a hundred miles away in Driftveil City, Hana was feeling as though she had been run over several times. The trip to Unova had taken the better part of twenty four hours, and had been the stuff of nightmares. Travel had consisted of a combination of planes, cars, and ferries. Add to that a feisty Gible who had never traveled before...On the first ferry where Gible had all but destroyed three seat cushions, a railing and small stuffed bear a child had dangling in her hand, Hana had been forced to buy a pokeball to contain the creature.

Stepping off the boat and onto the dock in Driftveil City, Hana clutched the straps of her backpack and walked quickly through the other departed passengers towards an information kiosk. There, she was pointed in the direction of the Driftveil Hotel. Breathing a sigh of relief Hana immediately headed down the dock. It was dark, but having lived in the small town of Floaroma all her life, she was shocked to see how many people were moving about.

The Driftveil Market was still opened and Hana could see vendors still doing business. She shook her head slightly, amazed at how different things were here in Unova. When she finally entered the hotel, Hana breathed out a sigh of relief. Sleep had been hard to find during her travels and she was ready to drop into the first bed she saw.

As Hana entered the hotel, her eyes widened, having never been in a building so luxurious. While the Driftveil Hotel was by no means the biggest one in Unova, it had nine floors, each one containing ten rooms. Decorated in neutral shades, the front lobby was fancier than anything Hana had seen before in her life. Besides the front desk there was a magazine and newspaper stand and a comfortable looking living room area.

Hana walked up to the front desk, and after a few minutes of conversation, smiled as the clerk behind the desk began to process her reservation. As Hana waited for the clerk to give her her room keys, her eyes wandered and landed on the stand for magazines and newspapers. Almost immediately, she froze.

"Excuse me," Hana asked, her tone of voice strained. "Are these newspapers current?"

The clerk paused what he was doing and nodded. "Yes ma'am," he said politely. "We bring in new issues every morning."

Immediately Hana grabbed one of the newspapers, where her brother, dressed in something overly formal was splashed across the front page. The headline screamed UNOVAN CHAMPION ZEN DEFEATED! Quickly Hana skimmed the article that gave details about her brother's loss and the ceremony for the new champion. Reaching the end of the article Hana let out a groan. According to the reporter, Zen would be resuming his pokemon training...

 _In Kalos_.

"Excuse me ma'am, but here's your room key," the clerk interrupted. "If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask."

Taking the key from his hands Hana said tiredly, "Actually...I do have one question. You wouldn't happen to have a map of the Kalos region, would you?"

* * *

Zen looked out the small window of the private plane that had been provided for him by the UPL.

" _What do you know about the Kalos region?" asked Sheldon, barely loud enough for Zen to hear his question._

_Zen answered truthfully. "It's another region that falls under the jurisdiction of the UPL. Their regional language is French, however, 90% of their population also speaks English, and 73% speak Japanese as well."_

_After a pause to recall some more information, Zen admitted. "I have never been there myself, so I know nothing about that region's customs, or their Pokemon."_

_Sheldon hesitated for moment, as if debating whether he should continue his line of questioning, before taking a deep breath and continuing._

" _Have you ever heard of Team Flare?"_

_Zen blinked several times as he tried to remember where he had heard that name, and his eyes lit up as he remembered. "Aren't they that organization that advocates for world peace?" He asked. "If I remember correctly, I saw a recruitment ad in the "Kalos Today" segment of the UPL newsletter."_

_Nodding, Sheldon looked around as if to assure himself that nobody was listening._

" _We have reason to believe that they are actually a criminal organization using world peace as a front for disguising their true intentions." He stated._

_Zen suddenly became uneasy. "What does this have to do with me, Sheldon?"_

" _The UPL needs you to go and uncover the truth about Team Flare and their operations in Kalos."_

Zen was pulled from his thoughts as he felt the airplane touch down on the runway. Once the seatbelt sign was finally turned off, he stood up and stretched, being sure to crack his neck, back and even his toes. Usually, he traveled using his pokemon Braviary, but it was Zen's custom to store all his pokemon except his original starter when entering a new region. Sighing in contentment, Zen grabbed his bag and made his way towards the exit. " _I didn't even have a chance to stop at home…"_ He realized abruptly.

Stepping out of the plane and onto the top step of the portable staircase that had been placed at the plane's exit door, Zen took in a deep breath of the crisp Kalos air.

Time to get started.

* * *

**POKEDEX ENTRY**

**#443 Gible:** _**It nests in small, horizontal holes in cave walls. It pounces to catch prey that stray too close.** _

**#612 Haxorus:** _**They are kind but can be relentless when defending territory. They challenge foes with tusks that can cut steel.**_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. Zen and Hana in Kalos!

_Hana hummed under her breath happily as she skipped down Route 218 several feet ahead of her older brother Zen. It was summertime, and the two children were traveling to their hometown of Floaroma in the Sinnoh region. At nine years old, Hana was still too young to start her Pokemon Trainer journey; after all, she still had one year left of classes before she could receive certification allowing her to own a Pokemon. Her brother, however, was the ripe old age of ten and had already received his first Pokemon a few days prior. Their father had taken the young boy to Sandgem Town where he had met with Professor Rowen and received his starter._

_Old enough to travel on his own, it had been decided that Zen would be allowed to pick up Hana from their aunt's home in Twinleaf Town and drop her off at home before continuing on his journey. Traveling to Floaroma from Twinleaf should have taken only the better part of a day, but Zen kept insisting that they stop to battle every trainer he ran into. Hana had been awestruck as she watched her brother and his new Pokemon battle. She couldn't wait for the year to pass so she could get her own Pokemon and join him for real._

_By the time they reached Jubilife, the last major city before Floaroma, the two children were exhausted as it was already after dark. With Zen's winnings, they had decided to spend the night at the Pokemon Center._

_The next day, while preparing for the last leg of their trip home, Hana had seen a sign advertising a fair in Conalave City and had begged Zen to take her there first before returning home._

_Deciding it would be a good chance to train, Zen gave the ok, and they began the trek west toward Conalave._

* * *

Hana's eyes opened abruptly, cutting short the memory of her time with her brother at the beginning of his journey. Blinking against the light she let out a ragged breath, wondering why the memories she had tried so hard to block from her mind were coming up. _Get a grip_ she thought to herself, closing her eyes. _It's been over ten years. You're fine_.

She turned her head on the pillow to look out the window, and could see a hazy glimpse of the town of Aquacorde through it. Hana had arrived the night before after traveling two days straight from Unova. If she ever did catch up to Zen, she was going to kill him for being so difficult to reach.

Hana was pulled from her thoughts as the sound of a wet sort of crunching filled her ears. Sleep was replaced by wakefulness and she bolted upright in bed exclaiming, "Gible!"

The round Pokemon looked up happily from where he sat in the center of the room, in a pile of what used to be Hana's clothing. Feeling sorry that Gible had spent that last week in a pokeball, Hana had released him upon entering the small room at the inn she was staying in, and before she could even think about putting anything away, had fallen asleep. Groaning she slipped out of bed and walked over to her Pokemon.

"Gible, how could you! You know my things are off limits!" Glaring at him in annoyance, Hana swatted him, while at the same time taking care to avoid his sharp teeth. Hana picked up the remains of her clothes and tossed them on the bed. Picking up Gible's pokeball, she reluctantly recalled him. Hana loved Gible, but his destructive tendencies were too much to handle at that moment.

Yawning, Hana walked over to where her bag was on a small desk, and she removed a map of Kalos from it.

The map was creased, from all the folding and unfolding it had gone through these past two days as Hana had studied it, trying to decide where to start the search for her brother. Eventually, she had decided to start in the smallest of the towns, Vaniville, and move up from there.

After going to the bathroom, Hana got dressed in the only clothes Gible hadn't destroyed; a pair of shorts and a tank top that had seen better days. Looking at herself in the mirror Hana cringed. She looked more like a twelve year old than a twenty-something year old woman. Her thin frame with only a hint at curves didn't help.

Gripping the map in one hand, Hana exited her room and went down to the lobby of the Aquacorde Inn. It was nowhere near as opulent as the Hotel in Driftveil City, but it had a charm all of its own with its plush carpets and vintage furniture. Nodding at the receptionist at the front desk, Hana exited and stopped in surprise as she got her first good look at Aquacorde Town in the daylight.

It was a small town, hardly more than five or six shops in the downtown area where the inn resided, but it was beautiful. In the center of the town square was a fountain and the streets were all made of stone. The buildings seemed older but tidy, made from sandy stones and covered in dark blue roofing. At the north end of town was a long bridge that crossed a winding river while at the south end of town stood a stone archway that was the entryway to a path.

Consulting her map Hana saw that Vaniville Town lay to the south. Squaring her shoulders and walking towards the stone archway Hana thought; _I'm coming for you Zen._

* * *

Zen looked around Lumiose City, his facemask being the only thing hiding his look of shock from those around him. Having arrived the previous evening, the former Unovan Champion hadn't had a chance to see much of the city once he reached the town at the center of Kalos. Now, however...Lumiose city was hands down the biggest city Zen had ever stepped foot in. The large buildings, wide roads, and strangely dressed people were going to take some getting used to.

The man sighed and looked off towards the center of the city, where he could see a towering structure that completely dwarfed every other building in the city. He was positive that the enormous tower could be seen for miles.

Looking down at the tourist guidebook he had found in his hotel room, Zen nodded his head. _That is definitely Prism Tower_ he thought. A _nd… it doubles as the city's gym? Fascinating_.

He looked at Prism Tower once more, his fingers reflexively reaching for his nearly empty pokeball belt, before remembering that he wasn't there to admire the architecture. He needed to focus.

Zen flipped through the pages of his Lumiose guidebook until he found the page with the Lumiose City map. Hoping to find some indication as to where to begin, he began quickly scanning the map. His eyes, which were quite used to picking up and analyzing little details, zeroed in on some bold letters on the map. But it wasn't the bold letters that had caught his attention; it was what they spelled out.

**"Professor Sycamore's Pokemon Lab"**

_Zen spotted the Pokemon Lab in the distance and broke into a run. "Hurry up dad! My Pokemon is tired of waiting for me!"_

_Sinnoh League Champion Shota shook his head at his son's antics. He could remember the day he received his starter. He had been just as excited as Zen, and he still considered it one of the greatest moments in his life. Smiling, he decided to just follow along, and not spoil Zen's moment._

_"Coming!" Shota called ahead to his son who had already reached the laboratory doors, and, was now glaring a hole through him because of how slow he was apparently walking._

_Shota chuckled inwardly. "Damned kid." A laugh escaped his lips as he noticeably sped up. "He'll be the death of me!"_

_Once inside, one of Professor Rowen's lab assistants greeted them and revised the documents Shota had handed to her. They were proof that Zen had completed the mandatory four-year course that all prospective trainers had take. According to UPL regulations, all schools were required to offer Pokemon Trainer courses._

_From ages six to eight, children who wished to be trainers would spend hours doing typical textbook work. At eight, if they passed the required written exams, they moved into a more hands-on course until at ten, after a final they received a document certifying them as trainers, and authorizing that region's Pokemon Professor to give that trainer their first Pokemon._

_"Looks like everything is here." said the woman. "Professor Rowan will be with you shortly."_

_To Zen, the wait felt like forever, although in reality, only about 6 minutes had gone by. He already knew which Pokemon he would start with; he had been thinking long and hard about it for a while now._

_He clenched his fists and looked at his father in excitement. "I'm going to surpass you, dad!" He thought._

_"Zenjiro?" Said a nasally voice, breaking Zen from his thoughts._

_Zen blinked in surprise and looked in the direction the voice had come from. He wasn't used to hearing his full name. Another smiling lab assistant gestured for Zen to follow him._

_"Professor Rowan will see you now."_

_Zen sprung to his feet, and practically dragged his father after the lab assistant._

_He would finally have a Pokemon._

_His journey started now._

Zen relaxed his grip on the guidebook when he realized he was crushing it almost to the point of not being able to read it. He'd never forget the beginning of his journey. Reflexively he put his hand on his chest, and gave it a comforting rub, eyes glazing over for a moment as if lost in a distant memory.

The man regained focus a moment later and prepared to make his way across the city to the Pokemon Lab. Now wasn't the time for old memories. He had a job to do. If anyone knew anything about Team Flare and their activities in Kalos, it would be the professor.

Taking the only pokeball he currently carried off of his belt, Zen looked down at it, sighing as if he felt an incredible weight on his shoulders.

"Let's get started."

* * *

Serena whistled under her breath as she walked down the forest path. Having recently moved to Kalos, she didn't know much about the area or the Pokemon that could be found. But at sixteen, she had felt confident taking the Vaniville Pathway by herself to meet with her brand new neighbors Shauna and Calem, who had come by to invite her to a get-together.

The young girl had been nervous at first about moving to a brand new region, but as she had started down the road leading to Aquacorde Town, Serena had felt nothing but happiness. The Vaniville Pathway, or Route 1 as it was more formally known, was a wooded path that connected the towns of Aquacorde and Vaniville. Unlike other routes she had grown up around, the Vaniville Pathway appeared to be Pokemon free.

At least Serena had thought so. Twenty minutes into her walk, she had heard a strange noise coming from one of the trees further up ahead. Curiosity piqued, Serena quickened her pace and soon saw that the branches of a tree up ahead were shaking wildly.

"What on…" Serena's voice trailed off as she realized it was a Pansage. The Pokemon had what appeared to be a tree growing out of its head. A combination of green and beige, Pansage had gotten its arm stuck in a hole in the tree trying to gather food. However, its clenched fist hadn't been able to fit all the way through and had gotten stuck. Now the Pokemon screeched wildly from pain and frustration.

Pity had welled up in Serena as she watched the Pokemon try to free itself. Who knows how long it had been there already? Dropping her bag on the ground Serena approached the tree and called out in what she hoped was a reassuring tone of voice, "Don't worry little guy, I'll get you free."

Serena hesitated a bit as she thought about what she was about to do next. Wild Pokemon were exactly that; wild. There was a reason that you had to go through a four-year course just to become a trainer.

Careless civilians and trainers alike got injured all the time because of letting their guards down around Pokemon that didn't seem all that menacing. In worst cases, death was a result of their folly.

Deciding that saving the Pansage was worth the risk, Serena covered her arms with the jacket in her bag, reasoning that it was thick enough to protect her from the trapped Pansage's sharp claws.

Standing at the base of the tree, Serena looked up and took a deep breath, before grabbing a low hanging branch and beginning to climb.

Within minutes Serena had shimmied up the tree and was seated high up on the branch above the ground. The Pokemon, weary from his ordeal, hissed and tried to scratch her with his free hand but missed.

"Hey, keep your paw...hand...thing...to yourself," Serena scolded as she gently took hold of the arm that was caught in the hole.

The Pokemon, terrified out of its mind, gave another desperate swipe. This one hit its mark.

While it didn't cut her skin due to the protection of her jacket, it had been a strong swipe. The Pansage was much stronger than it appeared.

Eyes wide, Serena found herself falling backward, her hand still holding the Pansage's arm. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized that her weight had successfully freed the wild Pokemon, but it was now screeching and scratching as they plummeted towards the ground.

 _There's nothing to break our fall!_ Serena realized in horror. Doing the only thing she could do in the few seconds she had before hitting the ground, Serena curled around the struggling grass monkey Pokemon in an attempt to shield it, closed her eyes, and waited for the pain.

* * *

By the time Hana started down Route 1 towards Vaniville Town, it was already mid morning. On her walk to the stone archway that signified the beginning of the route, she had gotten distracted by the various shops and had even stopped at a cafe to grab some breakfast; a warm, tasty croissant the memory of which made Hana wonder why she had only bought one.

Sighing wistfully Hana noticed a marker on the side of the road that said she was only half way to Vaniville; glancing at the watch around her wrist she saw that she had only been walking thirty minutes. Looking around Hana couldn't help but enjoy her surroundings. The Vaniville Pathway was beautiful; big trees frames the path on both sides offering a good covering from the sun and the path itself was paved.

Completely caught up in admiring the scenery, Hana almost didn't notice the feet sticking out from the brush on the side of the road. When she did, an involuntary gasp escaped her lips and immediately her hands began to tremble as she struggled to stop the panic rising within her.

Too frightened to think straight, Hana turned back towards Aquacorde but froze when a pain filled voice asked, "Is...is someone there?"

Unable to speak Hana took several cautious steps away but stopped when the voice continued with a small sob, "Please, I need help! I think I broke something."

It suddenly occurred to Hana that the voice sounded youthful and carefully she walked over to where the feet were. Peering down she was shocked to find a teenage girl, laid out on the ground, with scratches on her face and bare legs.

Immediately the fear dropped away, and Hana fell to her knees beside the girl. "What happened? Did somebody do this to you?"

"If by somebody you mean a Pokemon, then yes."'the girl said painfully.

Hana helped the girl sit up as she introduced herself as Serena, and gave a brief rundown of what had occurred to her. It was clear that the fall had injured the girl's leg and the Pokemon, upon being released, had scratched the girl several times leaving bloody lines across her face and legs.

When Serena was done, she winced and said, "You must think I'm an idiot."

"Well…" Hana started off, rummaging through the bag she had been carrying with her. "It wasn't exactly a wise decision." the older woman pulled out a first aid kit. "I can't help with your leg but let me clean up your scratches before I go for help."

* * *

Zen stared at the entrance to the Sycamore Pokemon Lab. After walking for what seemed like forever across the large city, he had finally arrived. Going up the short staircase that led to the entrance, he paused only a brief moment before entering the building.

Once inside, he was greeted with the sight of many lab assistants milling around completing their various duties. This must be the floor where all the paperwork was dealt with.

As soon as Zen entered the building, all chattering came to a halt, and he was met with the questioning, and somewhat fearful, stares of everyone currently in the room. Was there something on his face or could it be his outfit? Maybe, he realized suddenly; it was a Kalos custom that he was not aware of. Perhaps they stared at people as a way of greeting. Deciding to test his theory, Zen crossed his arms over his chest, erased all emotion from his face, and stared right back unflinchingly.

Thirty awkward seconds went by...and nothing happened aside from some of the weaker looking lab assistants flinching and turning away.

Zen, realizing that he was wasting his time, opened his mouth to speak. "Please take me to Professor Sycamore. I have urgent business to discuss with him."

"Excuse me sir, but do you have an appointment?" The words were spoken by a short woman, with dark hair, wearing a smart looking outfit in white. "Professor Sycamore is a very busy man and can't just see people whenever they want to!"

Zen turned to look at the woman who had spoken out to him, his face still unreadable. His eyes suddenly took on a predatory look, and he spoke.

"I don't have time to waste with incompetent assistants. Move, I'll find him myself." If there was one thing that put Zen in a bad mood, it was people who opened their mouths and spoke nonsense. It just grated his nerves.

Seeing an elevator towards the back of the room, Zen began to walk forward, hoping that the fools weren't so annoying that they would try to stop him.

He shouldn't have hoped.

He hadn't taken more than four steps before the lone security guard who thought he had been hiding successfully grew a pair and shakily stepped in front of Zen with a determined look on his face.

"Sir, you are r-really not allowed past this point unless y-you've made an appointment…" said the guard, holding a standard issue Taser Gun up in front of him.

Zen sighed. This was getting annoying. Why were they making such a big deal about someone wanting to talk to Professor Sycamore?

Taking another step forward, the former champion decided to try one more time. Beginning to lift his hands up to placate the security guard, Zen spoke; or tried to.

"Listen, I rea-

"Don't MOVE SIR!" squeaked the guard, interrupting Zen loudly. "Remove t-that dagger from your leg, p-put it on the ground, and take five steps b-back!"

By that point, Zen was reaching his breaking point. He hated being interrupted. However, he refrained from becoming upset, because now it all made sense.

He had strolled into a Pokemon lab that contained valuable Pokemon and research, wearing strange, dark, foreign clothes, and a long twelve-inch dagger strapped to his leg. That must have been why they had all stopped to stare when he had entered the building.

 _I guess it's not every day that a strange, foreign-looking man waltzes into their lab with a giant knife strapped to him_ Zen thought.

At that moment the elevator doors behind the security guard slid open revealing Professor Sycamore himself. The professor, a man in his mid-thirties, was busy looking down at the papers in his hands and walked straight into the security guard's back.

Blinking in surprise, Professor Sycamore looked up from the documents and exclaimed, "What's going on? Why are you standing there Mr. Thomas?"

Without waiting for a response the professor peered around Mr. Thomas, and his eyes brightened as they landed on Zen. "So the rumors are true!" he exclaimed, pushing past the security guard and striding over to Zen. "The former Unovan champion is here in Kalos! What a delightful surprise!" He held out his hand to Zen. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

Zen gave a small smile under his mask and grasped the professor's hand.

"My name is Zen. It's an honor to meet you Professor Sycamore. I wish we could have met under more pleasant circumstances...but my reason for being here is quite urgent. Can we speak in private?"

Hands still clasped together in greeting the professor caught the serious tone of Zen's voice, and he immediately became serious as well. "Of course, let's head to my office. We can speak there."

A few minutes later, and Zen was seated in a comfortable looking chair, across from Professor Sycamore. His office wasn't excessively large, but it was a comfortable size, and there was a large glass window that overlooked the Pokemon habitats that belonged to the lab.

Zen spared a glance at what seemed to be a Charmander basking on a rock enjoying the sunlight, before turning to the professor and asking him point blank.

"What do you know about Team Flare?"

Professor Sycamore leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment before responding.

"They are a vast and highly prominent group whose primary goal is to improve the world we live in. They do fundraisers, help towns and cities after natural disasters, and even appear at high profile meetings with influential people in the Civil Government."

Zen sighed, slightly disappointed that the Professor didn't have any new or useful information. However, his trip to the lab wouldn't be a complete waste. The Professor was essentially one of the UPL's representative here in the Kalos region. He always had a network of reliable people around Kalos that would be a great source of information. Teaming up with the Professor would be in his best interests.

"The UPL has reason to believe that Team Flare is not all that it seems to be. It is possible that they are a powerful crime syndicate using humanitarian acts and putting on a good face to hide their illegal activities," said Zen in a low voice that only the Professor could hear.

Upon hearing this, the Professor sat straight up in his chair, and looked Zen straight in the eye.

"Is the UPL certain about this?" he asked.

Zen shook his head. "No, and that is why I am here. I've been sent to uncover the truth. I had hoped you would have heard something, but it seems my hopes were in vain. I'll need to keep looking." Standing up from his seat, Zen continued. "There is something you can still do to help, Professor."

Walking over to the window overlooking the Pokemon habitats, Zen looked out at the sunbathing Charmander, absently wondering why there was a Kanto starter in the Kalos region. Shaking his head lightly to regain focus, he looked sideways at Professor Sycamore, who had just joined him at the window.

"You have many connections here in Kalos. Please investigate on your own, and see if you can't figure out something useful. In the meantime, I will be continuing my search across the region." Said Zen, who was still looking outside at the now awake Charmander, who seemed to have taken it upon himself to see what would happen if it bit down on it's tail flame.

"I'll do it. Give me some time to make some calls, and visit some people. I'll alert you should anything come to my attention." Said Professor Sycamore.

Tearing his eyes away from the intriguing fire lizard outside the Professor's window, Zen nodded. "Thank you, professor. Now how about a tour of the lab?"

Laughing, Professor Sycamore motioned for Zen to follow him, and they made their way down the hall towards the elevator.

"We'll head down to the main lobby, and out the side door to the Pokemon Habitats. We can start there."

Zen only nodded and followed the Professor into the elevator, anxious to see what type of Pokemon the Kalos region had to offer.

As the elevator opened, and they stepped into the main lobby, an energetic voice blasted through the air and assaulted their ears.

"Look Pikachu!" The voice said enthusiastically. "This is the famous Pokemon lab that studies Mega Evolution! We're going to learn something here that makes us stronger. I'm sure of it!"

Both the professor and Zen stared at the new comer. It was a young man about Zen's age. He was about an inch shorter, but stood with confidence that made him seem taller. His face was framed with pitch black hair that was spiked a bit to the side, probably due to the red baseball cap he was wearing on his head.

The man's large eyes were searching the room excitedly, and he was grinning widely. A few moments passed, and the stranger's wandering eyes met Zen's confused ones.

Zen immediately narrowed his eyes, but did not break eye contact. This man was hiding his power behind his giant smile and energetic, happy attitude. However, Zen was not convinced. He could tell by the way this man stood. He was a powerful man and Pokemon trainer. The Pikachu sitting on his shoulder only seemed to confirm Zen suspicions.

His Pikachu was clearly well trained and powerful. It sat confidently on his shoulder; it's small black eyes also staring straight at Zen, apparently sensing the same thing as it's trainer. What stood out the most about the man's Pikachu was the fact that it's fur was littered with scars. It had clearly fought many battles, and didn't seem to be in any way ashamed of it's battle scars. It wore them as banners of pride.

The man with the Pikachu spoke up once more as he stared at Zen intensely, his broad smile turning into a confident smirk.

"My name is Ash Ketchum." He raised a finger and pointed at Zen.

"Battle me!"

* * *

"Hana?"

The soft voice startled Hana, and she realized with embarrassment that she had fallen asleep in the living room of Serena's home in Vaniville. After finding the injured girl Hana had gone on to Vaniville, located Serena's mother, Grace, and then helped the woman retrieve her daughter.

That had been three hours earlier. Grace had left Serena in Hana's care and had left on her Rhyhorn to locate a doctor. Eventually, the woman had returned with an older gentleman and Hana had slipped out of Serena's room and gone downstairs.

Rubbing a hand over her face, Hana said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"That's alright," Grace said with a grin. "It's been an exciting afternoon. The doctor just left."

Hana stood up, looking concerned. "Is Serena going to be alright?"

Grace nodded. "It's just a fracture so she'll be alright. But the doc says she needs to stay off her leg for several weeks to let it heal."

Relief filled Hana at that news. "Really? I'm happy to hear that. Well, I'll be on my way then. It was a nice meeting you."

"Not so fast!" Grace laughed and propelled Hana towards the staircase. "Serena wants to speak with you."

Heading back to Serena's room, Hana found the girl lying in bed, using a laptop; her leg propped up. Seeing Hana, she smiled and closed the device.

"Hana, thank you so much for helping me. You didn't have to."

Sitting in a chair pulled up beside the bed, Hana replied, "Of course I did! I couldn't just leave you there lying in some bushes. Your mom told me that the doctor said you'd be ok."

The two of them chatted for a few moments longer. As Hana got ready to leave Serena asked hesitantly, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Ah...sure. What do you need?"

* * *

Grumbling under her breath, Hana made her back to Aquacorde wondering how she had gotten herself into this mess. If she hadn't stopped for the croissant in the morning, she wouldn't have met Serena, and she wouldn't be back on her way to Aquacorde Town to meet with Serena's friends to inform them of what happened.

Well...she'd be on her way back to Aquacorde anyways since no one in Vaniville had seen Zen, but that was besides the point. When she emerged from the Vaniville Pathway, Hana headed straight for the cafe she had eaten at in the morning. Serena's friends would be there.

Hana saw a group of teenagers seated outside the cafe and approached them. "Excuse me...are you Serena's friends?"

The group swiveled towards her and a young girl, with her brown hair divided into two large pigtails smiled and said eagerly, "Yes! We're her friends."

"Ah...sorry but...She can't meet with you right now. She got hurt on her way over." Hana said. At the stunned looks on their faces, she explained what had happened.

One of the boys, sat back in his seat and said glumly, "What are we going to do? The professor wanted me and Trevor to hand out these items."

Patting the boy's arm, the girl with pigtails said, "Don't worry Tierno, I have an idea! Hey! Lady!"

Hana, who had already been walking away, stopped and looked back. "My name is Hana," she said irritably.

"I'm Shauna," the girl replied brightly. "These are my friends Tierno, Trevor, and Calem! Come sit down!" She bounced out of her seat, grabbed Hana by the arm and pulled her over to the tables.

When Hana was seated Tierno said with a grin, "You know, Hana's a pretty name but wouldn't you prefer to be called H-Meister?"

Hana ogled him and Shauna burst out, "What! No way, she's a Li'l H for sure." Without missing a beat, the bubbly girl turned towards Trevor and demanded, "What do you think Trevor?"

"What? You want me to nickname someone I just met?!" Trevor's face turned nearly as red as his hair. Shooting a look at Hana in embarrassment he continued, "Shauna you shouldn't put people on the spot like that!"

Weakly Hana said, "Thanks but...I don't need a nickname. What do you guys need from me?"

"Well you see," Shauna chirped, "The Professor of this region has asked all of us to do him a favor and to complete it….he's giving us all Pokemon! Serena was supposed to help, but she's injured...and I noticed you're not carrying any Pokemon on you... so you can help instead!" Whipping towards Tierno, she continued eagerly, "Can we see the Pokemon? I want to meet my new partner!"

Hana felt a cold sweat break out over her, and she wanted to nothing more than jump up and run as far away as possible. She didn't want a Pokemon. She already had one, and that was enough.

She held up her hands and said, "Look, guys, thanks but I'm not interested."

Hana made a move to stand up, but Shauna reached over and grabbed onto her arm. "But you have to help us," she cried out. "Without a fifth person, we can't do as the professor asked. And everyone else around here is either already on their Pokemon journeys or still not certified!"

A look came over Shauna's face, and she asked in a rush, "You are certified aren't you?"

Memories washed over Hana, memories of begging her parents to let her drop out of the Pokemon trainer classes, only to have her father forcefully insist that she get over her fears and finish what she started.

Memories of graduating top of her class that year and throwing the certificate at her father and screaming that she would never be a trainer like him. Memories...

"I am certified," Hana whispered hollowly. "But I've never been a trainer." She looked at the eager youthful faces around her and remembered feeling that same eagerness. More memories bubbled up, but she forced them down.

She was an adult now, more than capable of taking care of herself. Last time with Zen, she had been a child. The two of them were unprepared for the horrors they had encountered in Conalave...but….this time...it could be different.

The image of her father in her mind, Hana found herself nodding, albeit reluctantly. "Alright….I'll help out."

The teens gave a cheer and Tierno pulled out three pokeballs and pushed them towards Shauna, Calem, and Hana. "Here you guys go, choose your new partner!"

* * *

At the shocked look on Zen's face, Professor Sycamore laughed delightedly.

"What an honor," the older man said, crossing the lobby to go shake Ash Ketchum's hand. "To have not one, but two Pokemon Champions here in my lab! Welcome!"

Ash shook Professor Sycamore's hand and grinned. "Former Pokemon Champions Professor; and it's good to be here." He looked over at Zen. "I didn't mean to startle you, but I know a powerful trainer when I see one. Passing up a battle is something I can't do! So, what do you say? Let's battle!"

Zen's eyes widened for a split second. _I knew he seemed familiar_ he thought. _..and that Pikachu is unmistakable. This is the man who took down Team Rocket when he was only about ten years old! Still...I've been a trainer for just as long. I'm confident of my victory should I choose to battle._

Looking at the energetic man in front of him, Zen contemplated whether or not to battle.

Finally, Zen shook his head and responded succinctly. "No."

Ash's jaw dropped in disbelief at being denied a battle so quickly. "Why not? This would be a perfect way to test my strength!" he argued.

"Two reasons." Zen began, holding up two fingers. "One, I'm not here for pleasure. I have extremely important business to attend to." Lowering one of his fingers, Zen continued. "and two… I wouldn't want to destroy Professor Sycamore's lab while using my Pokemon to defeat your Pikachu."

Zen kept his eyes on Ash, chuckling internally at the frustration and annoyance that now showed on the man's face.

"There is no way my Pikachu would lose to ANY Pokemon you have." Clenching his fist, Ash demanded. "Battle me!"

Zen shook his head once more, and began making his way towards the entrance of the lab. "No."

As he was about to exit the front door, he was interrupted by Professor Sycamore's voice.

"Surely you can make time for one battle? Your _business_ is not going anywhere in the next hour. I'll even lend both of you a Pokemon to use that won't cause the destruction of my lab." he said.

Closing his eyes in slight annoyance at their persistence, Zen turned around and faced the Professor and Ash. He supposed that there was no way out. What did he have to lose?

"Fine," Zen said, his eyes narrowing as he focused on Ash. "I'll battle you. But don't be upset when I defeat you."

* * *

**POKEDEX ENTRY**

**#511 Pansage: _It's good at finding berries and gathers them from all over. It's kind enough to share them with friends._**

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Karashi: Thanks for reading the next chapter of "Bonds of Deceit! I just want to clarify a few things about this story before we move on with it. This story will contain a mixture of Original Characters and characters from canon. We do not own any of the characters we use from the canon storyline, but since this is our version, do not expect the characters to be exactly the same as they are in the anime/manga/game, because you will only find yourself disappointed in the end.
> 
> This also goes for the storyline. You may have noted that we are loosely following the sequence of the XY games. The key word here is LOOSELY. The storyline will be different from the original at times, to better accommodate the plot of the story.
> 
> All seriousness aside, we hope you are enjoying Bonds of Deceit. Be sure to leave reviews, kudos, and follow! Come back and read the next chapter so you can see which Pokemon Hana chose, and for Ash vs. Zen!


	4. Rivals

Zen glared at his opponent.

After choosing their respective Pokemon, Professor Sycamore had led the two of them to a battlefield outside the Pokemon Lab. They were now standing opposite of one another, the air thick with tension as they waited for the match to start. Professor Sycamore, having offered to call the match, stood off to the side, looking back and forth at the two trainers. Several of his assistants, as well as passerbyers looking for something to do, were also watching; many of them placing bets.

"I bet Ketchum is going to win," whispered one assistant loudly. "He brought down Team Rocket!"

Another assistant scoffed and shook their head. "No way, I've seen footage of the Champion battles Zen has participated in. I think Ash Ketchum has met his match."

Gritting his teeth, Zen tuned out their words and focused instead on the Pokemon he had chosen for his battle. As the professor of the Kalos region, the Professor's lab was well stocked with starter Pokemon. Normally Zen would have preferred using a pokemon with a bit more battle experience, but given the circumstances, he didn't have much of a choice. A battle using his Tyranitar would probably destroy the Pokemon lab.

Zen has opted to use Charmander. The very same one he had been observing through the professor's window not long before. In all his travels, he had never had the privilege of battling with or owning the fire starter of the Kanto region, which would eventually evolve into the famously powerful fire drake, Charizard.

Ash, on the other hand, had decided to use a Froakie. Apparently, this particular Froakie had just been returned to the lab. The professor had said something about the little frog pokemon having an obedience issue, which had led to it's trainer abandoning it. Zen had never seen a pokemon quite like Froakie. It was a bright blue color with white puffs near the center of it's face that reminded Zen of spectacles. Combined with the white puffs hanging from the back of its head, it gave the pokemon the appearance of a little old man.

_Strange_ thought Zen, as the Froakie made a throaty sound. It was clearly getting impatient.

The Charmander clawed the ground with it's foot. Blowing a little steam from it's nose, it bared its sharp teeth at Froakie. Zen grinned. _It's got battle instinct. It seems I made a good choice._

"If you're done staring at that Charmander, I think it's time we got started!" Yelled Ash from across the field.

Professor Sycamore looked over at Zen. "Are you ready to begin?"

Zen nodded silently at the professor. Indicating that he was ready to battle.

Professor Sycamore raised his hand into the air, and spoke in a clear voice that could be heard across the field.

"This will be a one-on-one pokemon battle! The match will be over when one pokemon either faints, I call the match, or the other trainer forfeits." He said.

The Professor paused, looking sternly at the two trainers. "Please understand that I will call the match if I feel as if my pokemon are in danger of permanent injury. This is just a friendly battle. Do you both understand?"

Both trainers nodded and the Professor visibly relaxed.

"Good! Then begin!" The Professor Sycamore brought his hand down enthusiastically, and moved a couple steps back and away from the battlefield. _This will be quite the interesting battle_ he thought.

Zen and Ash stared at each other for a few moments, before Ash's impatience caused him to make the first move.

"Froakie, use pound!" said Ash in a confident voice.

"Counter with scratch, Charmander." Zen commanded immediately, barely pausing to think about it.

The baby fire lizard lunged forward quickly with it's claws out, ready to scratch at it's opponent with it's sharp black claws.

It was then that Zen realized something wasn't right. Looking across the field, his eyes widened a bit when he realized that the Froakie Ash had just commanded to use pound was sitting defiantly in the same spot it had been in before. It had apparently ignored Ash's command.

Seeing this, Zen watched as Ash grit his teeth, and just as the Charmander reached Froakie, claws bared and ready to slash into the water starter's body, stepped in between Charmander and Froakie, using his bare forearm to block the painful scratch attack.

The attacking Charmander leapt back and growled, feeling threatened by the interruption. Zen blinked in surprise, as did the professor, when they both realized that blood was dripping down Ash's arm, down his hand, and onto the ground in front of him.

"Ash! Are you alright!?" Called the professor from where he was.

Nodding his head, Ash responded. "I'm alright professor, it's just a scratch!"

Kneeling down in front of the now confused Froakie, Ash spoke.

"Don't you want to be strong? Strong enough to protect yourself, and fight your own battles?"

The water pokemon stared at Ash, it's froggish face giving no indication that it had understood the question.

"You won't always have people around to sheild you from attacks. An attitude like the one you have right now will only get you killed in battle one day." Continued Ash.

Standing up next to the Froakie, Ash grinned down at it confidently.

"You aren't mine, but I can help you become stronger. However, it starts here; with this battle! Let's both get stronger together by winning this!"

The frog pokemon narrowed its eyes, and leapt in front of Ash, croaking a loud challenge to the Charmander staring it down a few feet away.

Zen felt his eye twitch. What had he just witnessed? The legendary trainer and former Champion had just given a pep talk to a pokemon who wasn't even his, and it had listened to him.

_He's so lame… I can't believe that actually worked. What a strange trainer..._ thought Zen, as he sized up Ash. _I'll make the first move._

"Charmander, run straight at that Froakie." Commanded Zen.

The Charmander growled, crouched a bit, then shot forward towards the Froakie across the field; managing to close the distance at a reasonable time for a pokemon with barely any experience.

The Froakie tensed up, his body ready to move at a second's notice, but waited for Ash to give a command.

Ash opened his mouth, but was cut off by Zen saying firmly, "Do not relent. Close the distance and use scratch!"

"Froakie! Dodge that attack! And counter with bubble!" Ash called out.

The small blue pokemon barely managed to avoid the full impact of Charmander's attack. Caught off balance by the fire pokemon's scratch attack, Froakie opened his mouth and released a stream of bubbles that grazed the side of Charmander's face.

"Crouch on all fours to avoid the rest of those bubbles, and get in close again!" called out Zen.

"That won't work twice!" yelled Ash. "Froakie, use pound once it's close enough!"

The Froakie croaked and measured the distance between itself and the Charmander that was quickly approaching, then prepared to use it's pound attack.

"Now, Froakie!" said Ash enthusiastically.

Across the field, Zen smirked under his mask. " _Got him."_

"Charmander, throw dirt into Froakie's eyes!" The Charmander only hesitated for a split second, before following the order it had been given by Zen.

Dragging its right claw in the dirt, it slashed upwards and threw a clawful of dirt right into the Froakie's open eyes, just as it was pulling back his arm to use pound.

"No! Froakie, get out of there! Jum-"

"Trip it with your tail, then use scratch." Interrupted Zen from across the field.

The Charmander didn't hesitate this time, and immediately swept its tail at the blinded frog pokemon, knocking it onto it's back.

Following Zen's command, the Charmander leapt forward to scratch the downed water pokemon.

Ash, now over the shock of being interrupted not once, but twice, shouted a hasty command.

"Froakie, quick, use bubble straight upward!"

It was almost too late.

The small fire lizard was already slashing downward with its claws, and managed to scratch the Froakie across the chest before being thrown back by a sputtering bubble attack.

Zen grinned. The scratch attack had disrupted the Froakie enough to make it cough the water up, instead of shoot it out as intended. But it had still been strong enough to knock the Charmander back.

There was a slight pause but Froakie, injured by the scratch attack was unable to get back to his feet.

"Froakie is unable to battle! Zen and Charmander have won the match!" Came the professor's voice from the side of the field. Walking over to Zen, he continued. "You truly have a unique battling style, Zen. Congratulations on your win!"

"Thank you, professor...but the real congratulations goes to you." stated Zen calmly. "This Charmander has been trained well. It's not common for just any pokemon to adapt to my way of battling as quickly as he did."

Smiling, the professor began walking over to where Ash was kneeling and talking in a low voice with the now injured Froakie.

"I couldn't call myself a Pokemon Professor if I was no good at training Pokemon, now could I?" Sycamore said with an almost arrogant smile. Chuckling lightheartedly, he continued, "Let's go chat with Mr. Ketchum."

Zen nodded and followed the professor over to the kneeling Ash.

"Good battle." he said, extending his hand toward Ash.

Ash stood up, holding the Froakie protectively in his arms, and ignoring the handshake. "You fight dirty!" He said through gritted teeth. "That was an underhanded tactic you used out there!"

Zen put the hand he had intended on using to congratulate Ash into his pocket, and stared unflinchingly at Ash's frustrated gaze. Zen also noticed that the Pikachu who had been riding Ash's shoulder the entire time was sparking with electricity in response to his trainer's anger.

"I battle to win." Zen responded coolly, unconcerned about the feelings of the other trainer. If his methods were a little underhanded then so be it.

When Ash didn't responded, Zen nodded at the professor. "It's time I continue with the business I came to Kalos for. Thank you for your time, and for allowing me to use your pokemon for a battle.

Looking over at the Charmander who was watching from a short distance away, he spoke loudly so that it could hear him.

"You're a strong pokemon. Whoever gets you as their starter is going to be very lucky."

Shaking the professor's hand, Zen wished him goodbye and began walking towards the exit.

"Wait!"

Ash's voice rang out across the field. The professor, the lab assistants, and Zen all turned to look at Ash, who was holding the now sleeping Froakie, and staring straight at Zen.

"I've decided…" began Ash, his dark eyes sparking with determination. "You're going to be my new rival!"

* * *

_Gible_...Hana thought unhappily, _is not going to like this_.

Staring down down at the cheerful little grass starter in front of her, she could almost sense Gible's disdain from his pokeball. The Chespin she had ended up with chirped happily as he twisted his head to look all around him. His body was a combination of browns and the top of his head was green and spiky, looking almost as though he had a cap of grass on.

Perched on Hana's lap, the little Chespin was much lighter than Gible who weighed close to forty pounds. Absently patting the creature on his head, Hana looked at Shauna and Calem who were admiring their new pokemon. Hana had told them to choose first and Shauna had taken the water starter of the region while Calem had chosen the fire starter.

"They're all so cute!" Shauna crooned as she admired her new Froakie. Looking up and meeting Hana's eyes the younger girl asked eagerly, "Are you going to nickname your pokemon?"

Hana looked down at the Chespin who was clapping its paws together and chirping happily. Shaking her head she said glumly, "I should name him trouble, I can see he's going to get into all sorts of mischief."

As if to prove her point the Chespin, fell backwards against the table displacing several of the cups.

Shauna giggled, looked at her Froakie and said happily, "We go great together! The two of us are just waaaaaaaaaay too cute!" she dragged out the word way giving it a small tune and Hana cringed.

Meanwhile Calem stared at his Fennekin and said solemnly, "Nice to meet you Fennekin...I'm Calem." A smile bloomed across his face. "Because of you, I can be a real Pokemon trainer! Thank you."

Clearing her throat Hana asked hesitantly, "How come you guys are starting your pokemon journeys now? I thought kids started at ten."

"Not in this region," Tierno said glumly. "Here the minimum age is sixteen."

Hana wanted to ask another question but Trevor cleared his throat and said quietly, "Uh...I also have something for you from the professor." Reaching into the bag at his side, he pulled out three devices and handed them out to Shauna, Calem and Hana who each took one after putting their new pokemon back into the pokeballs.

Taking the device from Trevor, Hana felt her breath catch in her throat. It was a pokedex, shiny and new but Hana was instantly reminded of her father. As Trevor explained what the pokedex could do, the older woman could only stare down at hers and remember how she used to eagerly wait for her father to return from his travels so she could view his pokedex and see what new pokemon he had encountered.

Distracted by her memories Hana jumped slightly when Shauna poked her in the shoulder. "Did you hear Trevor?" she demanded. Without waiting for Hana to speak she continued in a rush, "The professor wants us go out and complete the pokedex; it's our mission!"

Tierno rolled his eyes and pulled out a crinkled looking paper from his bag. "I have a letter here from the professor for your mom." He pushed the letter towards Hana and then eyed her critically. "We all got one but you're kinda old to be needing permission."

Red flooded Trevor's cheeks at his friend's brashness. "Tierno, don't be rude!" Looking at Hana who was fighting not to smile he continued seriously, "Don't let Tierno bother you...you can hold onto the letter and just return it to the professor if you see him."

As Hana took the letter and placed it in her bag Tierno jumped up from his seat and said eagerly, "Alright! We're done with our errand from the professor. Trevs and I can go catch pokemon now. See ya later!" He waved at the table and took off, Trevor scurrying behind him.

The other two excused themselves and Hana found herself sitting alone wondering how she had gotten herself into this mess.

* * *

"Your...rival?

Zen stared blankly at his fellow ex-champion. Why was he so enthusiastic about everything? It was beginning to annoy him.

"I'll pass," said Zen after a moment of silence. "I have more important matters to attend to."

Intent on finally leaving the professor's lab, Zen turned once more toward the exit, this time walking a little faster. Waving goodbye to the professor one last time, Zen hurried through the exit of the training field, into the lab, and out into the streets of Lumiose. He was finally alone again.

Grinning, he began to walk in a random direction down the huge road that went through the city. However, a voice stopped his happy escape from becoming a reality.

"Zen!"

Sighing in defeat, he turned around and was immediately greeted by the sight of Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu.

"I'm sorry." Ash looked away as he apologized. "I shouldn't have acted that way earlier…"

Walking up to Zen, he extended his hand. "It was a good battle!"

Zen looked at Ash's extended hand. No harm had been done, and Zen was sure that had he lost that battle, he also would have been feeling quite annoyed.

After a moment of silence Zen extended his own hand, and gripped Ash's hand tightly. "No worries, it's all in the past now."

Ash grinned widely at Zen's response. "I knew you were actually a good guy! What are you doing here in Kalos anyway?

"I decided it was time to explore a new region, and train up a brand new team of Pokemon," explained Zen, careful not to mention the real reason he was there.

It was then that Zen realized Ash had not yet released his hand. Giving his hand an experimental tug, he was startled when Ash's grip only tightened.

"What are yo-"

Ash broke out into a loud laugh, stopping Zen from continuing. "I won't lose the next time we meet." He smirked. "I didn't use Pikachu in our battle...things would have been different if I had."

Zen scoffed. "Don't be so sure." Smirking, he continued. "I don't see how you and an electric mouse would even stand a chance."

Sparks flew between their eyes and their grips tightened even more as they stared each other down. The people walking on the city streets even gave them a wide berth, sensing the tension in the air between the two men.

An electric shock from an impatient Pikachu finally ended the staring contest after what felt like an eternity. "You're right Pikachu, it's time to start training!" said a smoldering Ash, who was now grinning at his Pokemon.

Looking back at Zen, Ash said, "Rivals, then?"

A chuckle escaped Zen's lips before he turned and began walking the opposite direction.

"No."

"What!?" Ash's outraged voice was heard for at least a mile.

"We probably won't even see each other again Ash, but... I wish you luck on your journey!" Zen called over his shoulder.

As he walked away, Zen couldn't suppress a shiver that traveled along his spine. He couldn't help but feel as if that statement was going to come back and bite him in the ass.

He sincerely hoped he was wrong.

* * *

Back at the hotel, packed and with her creased Kalos map before her, Hana decided that the next place to search for her brother would be Santalune.

There was a forest that stretched between Santalune and Aquacorde, but now that Hana had two pokemon she wasn't as worried as she might have been...or so she tried to tell herself.

Staring at the map, Hana felt a ribbon of anxiety curl around her chest and it took everything she had to clamp down the memories threatening to overwhelm her. She shut her eyes tightly. _You're not nine years old anymore. You can do this._ The words, thought repeatedly, broke through her anxiousness and Hana let out a sigh.

With a slight tremor in her hands Hana carefully folded up the map and put it in her pocket. The pokedex that Trevor had given her contained a map of the region but having the paper one was comforting.

As Hana picked up her bag to leave the room her eyes landed on the telephone beside the bed. Thoughts of her mother filled her mind and Hana dropped her bag back down. Letting out a deep breathe she moved to the phone and dialed her mother's number.

The phone rang twice and then her mother was on the line. "Hello? Hana, is this you?" Kaede's normally relaxed tone sounded frantic.

"It's me mom," Hana replied feeling guilty. After the incident, Hana had stuck close to home and with her Father and Zen gone, it had just been the two women together. As Zen's exploits took him further and further away Hana had entrenched herself further into the family business until soon she was the one in charge.

The relief on the other end of the line was palpable as Kaede breathed out, "Thank God…Hana, What on earth is going on? I saw your note... but I don't understand."

Gripping the phone tightly in her hand Hana replied, "I...I had to find Zen."

"Sweetheart, that's no reason to go gallivanting off by yourself with that wild Gible of yours!" Kaede protested. "We could have called your brother."

Shoving the anxiety that was rising up in her down, Hana said firmly, "I had to find Zen. I...I-'ll be back as soon as I can."

Before her mother could respond, Hana hung up.

After checking out of the inn and going into one of the stores to stock up on a few items, Hana made her way to the bridge that lead out of Aquacorde and onto Route 2. As her foot touched the bridge, Shauna's voice rang out from behind her.

"Hana! You can't leave yet!"

Surprised, Hana turned around, and found the younger girl standing behind her, a grin on her face and her pokeball in hand.

Holding up the pokeball, Shauna continued happily, "You're gonna be my opponent in my Pokemon battling debut!" She paused to spin in a circle and shouted, "Ok Li'l Froakie; it's our first battle! Let's win it with style ok?"

Hana jumped backwards as Shauna threw the pokeball and released her water pokemon. Startled as the Froakie landed in front of her, Hana fumbled slightly at the two pokeballs hanging on her belt and threw one forward.

Immediately, Gible appeared and he let out a happy little shriek at being free.

"Wait, Gible, I didn't mean to release you!" Hana called out frantically as her pokemon tripped on a stone. The pokemon ignored her as he stood back up, and for a moment Hana was taken over by a crippling fear at the thought of her Gible becoming injured.

If she was surprised at the appearance of Gible instead of Chespin, Shauna didn't show it. Instead she pointed at Gible and said firmly, "Alright Froakie! Take out that thing with bubble!"

Bubbles spilled from the pokemon's mouth and Hana watched in horror as they hit Gible straight in the face. The small dragon pokemon sputtered and fell backwards caught unaware by the attack.

"Good job Froakie! Now use pound on him!"

Gritting her teeth together Hana shoved her fear aside and snapped, "Gible, dodge that attack!" As Gible, unused to fighting, stumbled awkwardly to dodge the Froakie's pound attack, Hana tried desperately to remember what attacks her pokemon knew. As Shauna directed Froakie to use another bubble attack, Hana remembered that the pokedexes contained a feature that showed the moves of your pokemons.

Snatching her's from her bag, Hana opened it up and pointed it towards her Gible and then, after taping a few commands, smiled as she read what was on the screen. Just as Froakie opened his mouth to release more bubbles, Hana yelled, "Gible, use tackle and take him down! And then use sand tomb!"

Letting out a small shriek, Gible lowered his head and ran at the Froakie. Weighing over twice as much, Gible slammed into the smaller pokemon and smashed him into the ground. As Gible jumped off Froakie's downed form and began to kick up dirt a bright white light surrounded him and both Shauna and Hana watched in amazement as the small Gible transformed.

Gone was Hana's small, round and cute Gible. In his place stood a four foot tall creature with a long neck, narrow head and lethal looking nails at the tip of winged arms. Tipping his head back in a much louder shriek than Hana thought possible, he swung his large tail around to create his sand tomb attack. Froakie, shook his head, stood back up, and looked confused by the sudden change in his opponent.

As Hana's pokedex beeped and logged the new pokemon before them, she let out a small squeak. "He...he ch-changed into G-Gabite."

For the first time since they met Shauna looked genuinely worried. "He's huuuuuuge! Froakie come back before you get squished!" A moment later her pokemon was recalled. The pokedex in Hana's hands beeped again, this time logging the battle as a win on her part.

The Gabite turned towards Hana and she sucked in a deep breath as began walking towards her. The last time she had been near a pokemon larger than Gible had been during her trip with Zen over ten years ago. Gabite quickened his pace and immediately slid on the dirt he had pulled up for the battle. Hana touched a hand to her forehead and couldn't stifle the laugh that bubbled up. He might have changed but it was still her same pokemon. "You did well Gi...Gabite."

Hana recalled the pokemon back to his ball and pulled out one of the potions she had purchased in the shop. Tossing it to Shauna she said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I had no idea he would evolve! Although I should have known since I've had him for ten years…"

"Are you kidding; you're amazing Hana! I just knew you'd be a fun opponent." Shauna held up her pokeball and continued cheerfully, "The next time we meet, Froakie and I will be ready. Byyyyyyyye!"

* * *

Zen sighed in relief as he finally settled down in a hotel room for the remainder of the evening. It had been an eventful day, and his body was starting to feel it. After parting ways with Ash, Zen had taken to walking around the city and becoming familiar with it. He got to know a few of the locals, and entered as many shops as he could, all the while keeping his eyes and ears open for anything Team Flare related.

Unfortunately, he had come up empty-handed, and had decided to turn in for the evening. Now, alone in his hotel room, he could finally allow himself to be his mask, he made quick work of the clothing he had been wearing, and after a brief shower, dressed in a pair of loose pants.

Zen caught sight of his appearance in the bathroom mirror and frowned slightly at the jagged scar that ran across his chest. He was covered in scars from his years of training and sometimes even fighting off wild pokemon, but this one….His hand came up and touched it gently. This particular scar served as a reminder of how dangerous it could be to be a young, inexperienced, ten year old trainer, and brought up painful memories of the beginning of his journey with Hana.

Sighing, Zen realized he hadn't yet contacted his family about his relocation to Kalos. Grabbing his phone, he sat on the hotel bed and punched in the numbers for his mother.

"Hello?" Kaede's voice came through, and there was a worried tone to it.

"Hi mom, it's me." said Zen into the phone.

Kaede gave a small cry of relief. "Zen? Oh thank goodness! I've been trying to reach you for days!"

"Relax mom, I'm ok. You know what being Champion is like. I barely have, well... _had_ time for myself. It was the same with dad, remember?"

"Enough about you," Kaede snapped, surprising her son with her uncharacteristically harsh tone to voice. She paused, her tone growing husky with tears. "Your sister ran away...I came home from an event several days ago, and she was gone!"

Zen nearly dropped the phone in shock. Ever since the...incident, his sister had barely left their hometown. "She did what?" demanded Zen in disbelief.

There was a rustling of paper on the other end, and Kaede replied, "There was a note saying she needed to find you, and she finally called me a few hours ago, but the conversation didn't last long enough for me to find out where she was or why she needed to find you."

Zen couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hana had actually struck off on her own? She must have had a good reason for doing so, because she had secluded herself for nearly ten years, and devoted all her time to the family's Pokemart back home. The blood drained from his face when realization dawned on him. How could he explain to his mom that Hana would most likely get lost in some wilderness with wild pokemon roaming about, and no way to find him since he was in another country entirely? Oh no...That reminded him.

"Mom, what about that Gible she's always carrying around with her? Did she leave him at home?"

Sighing deeply Kaede said dryly, "That's the only good thing to come of this event...I no longer have that creature destroying my shoes."

Kaede's attempt to lighten the mood fell flat. Zen had barely been listening; his mom had way too many shoes anyway. Instead, he was trying to imagine where Hana had gotten off to with that Gible. Should he worry? She was a grown woman after all, and she had that Gible to look after and protect her, right?

Suddenly, Zen remembered _that_ particular Gible's clumsy nature. _She'll probably need saving._ he thought grimly, images of his sister getting attacked by wild pokemon filling his head.

Zen's voice sounded over the line again. "Mom...I'm in Kalos. If you hear from her again have her call me immediately."

"A-Alright," Kaede said. "I will. Zen if you find her, please...bring her back home safe. After what happened in Conalave City…" Her voice trailed off and at the mention of Conalave Zen reached up again to touch his scar.

When the call disconnected Zen stared at his phone. Where the hell was Hana?

* * *

As her brother wondered where she was, Hana walked down the bridge leading out of Aquacorde Town and stepped onto the path that started Route 2. Heart beat quickening, Hana touched the pokeballs at her hip and moved forward.

* * *

**POKEDEX ENTRY**

**#004 Charmander:** _From the time it is born, a flame burns at the tip of its tail. Its life would end if the flame were to go out._

**#656 Froakie:** _It secretes flexible bubbles from its chest and back. The bubbles reduce the damage it would otherwise take when attacked._

_**#** _ **444 Gabite:** _It loves sparkly things. It seeks treasures in caves and hoards the loot in its nest._


End file.
